Hey y’all. It’s been a rough week or two and not over yet.
Long story short, my rhuemy NP believes I have a pinched nerve in my neck caused by either inflammation or bone spurs or both. I’ve still got to get the nerve conduction test done and now it’s asap. The blood test results for lupus were good. Thank God No lupus!!
But the Np confirmed yesterday I have PsA. I’ve got sausage toes. I’ve had them before but yesterday it was obvious when she saw them. So thank God for a Confirmed diagnosis finally!!
This pinched nerve if that’s what it is, is horrible pain! Nothing is helping ease the pain! I can’t sleep more than two to four hours if I’m lucky. I wake up from the pain. But if there’s a good side, NP prescribed mtx and another round of prednisone. She said if it’s caused by inflammation, they both will help and ease the pain.
I’m going to get the scripts today and start them tomorrow when my husband and son are off work. (Our oldest son has moved back in with us. He and his wife are separated 
) That way if I have a bad reaction or side effects, they can get me to my doc or at least call him.
Has anyone had a pinched nerve in the neck caused by PsA or anything else? What helped the pain if anything? I’ve GOT to get some rest somehow! But Idk how.
Thank you all in advance! God bless!
Congratulations (?) on the diagnosis. The good news is that it helps propel treatment, which you are needing. MTX can take some time to kick in, but the prednisone will hopefully cover you until then.
The nerve conduction study needs to be asap because they’re worried about permanent damage occurring?
Hey @Stoney. Yes thank you! May sound crazy to be happy about a diagnosis but oh well lol not happy about having this blankedty blank disease but yes now finally! They can and are starting treatment.
Honestly I’m not sure why she said asap. Oh I did call to get it set up again today. It’ll be done on January 14th. I’m guessing like you said permanent damage.
If I had a pinched nerve, I’d want to visualise it in order to think about how the drugs might help. So, my probably clumsy understanding would be that PsA-related swelling is pressing on the nerve. Therefore, anything that addresses swelling, even if just by reducing it slightly, might bring relief. Prednisone sounds promising as it works quickly.
How long has this been going on? Sometimes the stuff that comes on suddenly can ease up just as quickly … I do hope so. Don’t worry about the drugs, chances are you won’t feel a thing … except better, sooner or later (and hopefully sooner!)
I’ve had a couple of episodes of a trapped nerve in my upper spine, although the pain was all down my right arm, complete agony and none of the prescription painkillers I was on for the PSA touched it. The GP prescribed amytripyline, which cleared the pain with a few days and made me drowsy enough to sleep.
Hey @Sybil yes that’s basically what I did too! Lol no pain meds even morphine helped. Just horrible almost nonstop pain! This started over a week ago, late Tue night/early Wed morning. This coming Tuesday will be 2 weeks. Oh yes!I got relief last night! Thank God! Within a couple of hours of taking the prednisone, I was nearly pain free! Wonderful feeling!! It lasted until about 10am this morning. Woke up with the ache all in my arm and shoulder again and acid reflux on top of it! Ugh! Took a Zantac and 400 mg motrin and feeling somewhat better. Thank God! The prednisone worked no doubt! I’m not sure if the mtx helped or not except making me sleepy and lightheaded. Doc said that I could divide the 5 2.5 mg pills up and as long as I take all 5 in 24 hours. I took 3 last night and going to take the last 2 today after I eat something. Acid reflux has subsided so coffee time. Lol
So thankful so far I haven’t had any really bad SE from the mtx. Praying it does what it’s supposed to do soon.
Hey @Pilgrimchris oh no! But yes I know exactly what you mean! Same here! And hard to explain it to anyone that hasn’t had something like this before. Er doc gave me a shot of morphine and it didn’t even help ease the pain. My husband and son were like how can it not help??!! Lol but I swear it didn’t! Just made me sleepy and loopy.
I haven’t ever heard of that med. My rhuemy gave me scripts for prednisone and mtx. The prednisone worked for sure within a couple of hours I was nearly pain free. Praise God for prednisone!!! And I slept for a good 5 hours! Which you probably understand is good with a pinched nerve or whatever the nerve is doing.
Like Sybil, we believe and the prednisone helping so much confirmed, it’s inflammation pressing on the nerve or something like that. Did your problem with the nerve get resolved? If so, how long did it take? With meds or surgery?
Mixed results then, but some really good new in that mix. Fingers and toes crossed for you!
Ok. So here’s my deal. I went to internal dr for neck pain. She threw me in pain clinic. Years later, failed out waiting for surgery. I’m wondering, what about all the other pains I have. Bilat plantar fasciitis, IT band that I thought was just the hip. Husband came home from woman’s conference(he’s a PA) he says, you have PsA! Surgeons now say, your neck is not ready for surgery…2 weeks later I get dactylitis. Done. What your neck pain is, is probably tendonitis. That was YEARS ago. And now I’m burning through sulfasalazine, methotrexate, humira, now doing humira AND sulfasalazine. Not working… I’m going to ask him if I can next try stelara because it seems best for enthesitis. Stress is the worst. We need to learn to deal:roll_eyes:
God bless you, Anne
I think what’s happening is that the enthesitis causes bone spurs. Those, in turn, pinch off nerves and blood flow. So ultimately it’s the enthesitis. I had plantar fasciitis for 3 yrs straight prior to diagnosis and now have bone spurs there too.
Thanks for this information, LaMomma. Here’s a little more detail from webmd: https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/psoriatic-arthritis/enthesitis-enthesopathy#1
It sounds like @AngieB that you’re finally on the right road. I’m so glad the pred did what it’s supposed to do. I suffered neck problems for years less so, far less so interestingly since I got PsA. Sometimes it was of the nerve variety and sometimes more like a ‘crick’ in your neck. I wouldn’t wish either on my worst enemy.
Remember to take photos on your phone of any weird swellings of anything. That way you can show the medics the photos if your body decides not to cooperate at the time of the appointment. That was and is invaluable for me.
I so hope the mxt does its stuff for you with little or no ill effects. Like you morphine tends to do little for me other than make me loopy, too loopy that I invariably refuse it whenever its offered.
And let’s hope the nerve tests in January give you comprehensible advice.
I had one in 1991 that was from a ruptured disc. Ice packs helped the most. And warm showers. Hope it’s resolved soon for you. Hang in there!
So here’s my deal… years ago I told my primary of my neck pain. She stuck me in pain clinic. Was the for years, doing antinflammatories up the ying yang, injections in and around the area, then he said there’s nothing more to do get surgery. Well, I said in my head, what about all the other occasions I have… long and short, I got diagnosed with PsA finally. Torodol helps with the immediate flair ups. But you can only do 5 days and I think that is even starting to fail. Morphine gives me sick a headache I told them too…i put on my allergy list. This is one crazy f’d up disease. Seriously, how can there be nothing that works for inflammation…
Hey y’all. Sorry I haven’t updated. Just been one thing after another lately. I had a bad reaction to the methotrexate. 
numb and tingling face. Doc said stop immediately! But I took some benadryl and it subsided. So far guess it was an allergic reaction.
Got an emergency appointment fairly quick. Thank God. I saw a NP that the haven’t seen before. He was questioning every thing the doc and other NP’s and the PA had already diagnosed! But he prescribed sulfasalazine anyway. I explained to him that I have a low tolerance for medication. He still prescribed the max dose! 2- 500mg tabs twice a day. Well I’m taking only 1 tab twice a day and I’m woosey, sleepy and groggy 75% of the day. I’m having to take a nap every day because of the sulfasalazine. And it’s messed up my BM 's. I have IBS with constipation. My routine is messed up now and feeling so loosey I can’t even walk to my mailbox for exercise. Ugh idk if I can continue with this medication!
Got appointment with the Nuerologist January 14th. For the nerve conduction test. No appointment with the rheumatologist again until Feb 7th! I may have to call them and see if I can get an appointment sooner.
Past my nap time. My stubborn dog 
won’t come inside. Ugh lol
I’ll update as soon as I know anything else.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Hi Angie,
Here in the UK it’s more normal is start low and slow with sulfasalazine and work it up week by week. So one 500mg tablet once a day for a week, then one tablet twice a day for a week, then two tablets once a day and one tablet once a day for a week and finally two tablets twice a day in the fourth week. That brings you up to 2000mg per day and given it’s a loading dosage helps manage those initial side affects so much better. So drop one of your tablets for a week and see how that feels and build it back up the next week. And if you find a increased dose is too much drop back a tablet for a week and and then continue to build it up. It takes a long time to get working for our disease anyway so slowing down how you’re getting to max dose isn’t any issue at all. It could be that it’s not for you, my system loved it for 18 months (and I was on 300mg per day 3 tablets, twice a day) and for at least 7 of those months it truly worked well. Initially also I took an anti-nausea tablet daily for about a week. I had no side effects other than neon yellow wee and severe noise sensitivity and possibly intense irritatability. But those issues disappeared - probably not the irritability one though as I’m probably that anyhow. 
But honestly take it slower with sulfasalazine, the medication advice sheet in your packet should also explain how to load up the doses slower, it does here. I so hope this helps. The problem with all DMARDS which we all must try is ‘side effect’ issues. Now they can be used to gallop through ‘failing’ the DMARD quite legitimately or you might find like me one of them actually really works for a time, which frankly is seriously just lovely.
Wishing you all the luck possible but slow it down considerably initially. x
@Poo_therapy thank you! I hope you’re feeling better! The NP didn’t explain a thing to us. I did not like him at all! I’ll request to see a different PA or NP if I can’t see my actual doc next time for sure. I googled it before I started taking it. I had not heard much about that med. The reputable website said to start it lowest dose. Which I thought meant 1- 500mg twice a day. Yeah I think I’ll skip the dose for this afternoon and take the night dose a bit earlier. Maybe that way I won’t be sleeping or so woosey ALL day.
Speaking of side effects, do you know if it will cause headaches? I haven’t been having any but woke up this morning with a pretty bad one. Drinking some coffee now and it seems to be helping. So it may be from sinus congestion. I’m terribly congested. Ugh.
Thank you again! This wretched disease isn’t going to keep controlling me! I’m ready for my New normal! 
Hope you had a good Christmas and have a safe pain free Happy New year!
Yes it can cause headaches, (for me it was like irritatation upped itself considerably giving a sort of ‘I’m really truly got no patience for anything’ of headache, with lots of Irish swear words beginning with ‘f’ said very loudly. Up your fluid intake considerably, that helps and if you find it makes you woozy, take your daily dose this week at night instead of in the morning.
Best of luck.
x
I’ve had what I’d call pinched nerves in my neck or lower back (in my butt) many times. P. T. works as well as icing and rest. Mine would usually go away after about 3 weeks. There’s a simple exercise for the neck: push on your chin and tuck your head back (this stretches the back of your neck if you do it correctly).
That’s funny—I just responded to @Blue_Waters post and forgot about those “pinched nerves” I had off and on over the years.
Hey y’all. Thank you all for your input and advice. Because of the headaches, nausea, etc and now a bad sinus infection, I’ve stopped the sulfasazine(? Mispelled?). I wasn’t sleeping any better and really felt worse taking it. I’m going to email or call the doctor today. Maybe he can and will send a script for antibiotic to the pharmacy for me. Or something that will break up this congestion. Another round of prednisone maybe? Idk. But I do know I’m feeling horrible again.
Hope everyone is doing well and have been safe, pain free Happy New year!!